


Be Yours

by cockabeetle, Jaseish (Kymopoleia)



Category: LoliRock (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, headcanonpalooza, iris has a picnic and mephisto's along for the ride, mephisto never broke the spell from s1e3, post s2e2, they're cute k
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-06 15:40:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12213822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cockabeetle/pseuds/cockabeetle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kymopoleia/pseuds/Jaseish
Summary: "How would that be getting back at you? If Praxina was mad at me then you'd never let me do it again." Maybe it was the mood under the tree, but she was feeling bold.His face burned, and he sputtered a little."Why would I l-let you do it again, anyway?"Iris reached forward to pluck the strawberry from his fingers, biting it carefully. "I don't know, that's for you to decide."





	1. Chapter 1

Iris sighed to herself, soaking up the sun as she walked toward her favorite spot in the park, the willow tree. It felt like it'd been ages since she'd gotten to go, and in all honesty it probably had. She shifts her grip on the picnic basket- a bit obvious, but sue her, she wanted to sit for a few hours on her own, eat a peanut butter and jelly and some strawberries, and not have to worry about magic or villains or concerts. She pushes her way into the space, looking down and frowning.

Mephisto had been hiding under this particular tree since he and Praxina had gotten to this planet. Usually when the world became too much and he needed to be alone with his feelings. Let himself stew in his failures and their cause and. Anything else that might be bothering him. Telling time on this planet was awkward, but they seemed to have similar lengths of month, so he could still tell how long it'd been on Ephedia since he'd left it. And it was the anniversary, again. He and Praxina always took the week off during the anniversary, but they couldn't visit a temple on this planet, or make a trip back to Ephedia just to do that, so this tree was the best he could do.

Iris stepped in a bit closer when she realized the villain wasn't going to immediately shoot her. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Mephisto?" She asked, softly.

Mephisto jumped, head whipping up to stare at Iris, wiping his face in case he'd started crying. He frowned a little, other arm curling more tightly around his knees, and squinted at her for a few seconds.  
"...I can't tell if you're real or not." He presses his face back into his knees, and curls in on himself a little more.

Iris stared at him, a pang in her heart at those words. "Hey, hey, it's okay," She starts out placatingly, swallowing. "Um... hey, can you stand up for a minute? Can I join you?"

"...Why?" He glances up at her, even though he floats up a bit at her request to stand. He didn't know what she wanted, but he wasn't ready to uncurl yet and it was easier to float than do that anyway.

"Uh... a little higher?" Iris offered a sheepish smile. She set down the picnic basket and reached inside for the blanket she'd brought to sit down on... even if she had to deal with him, she was going to have her picnic.

She didn't answer, but he'd comply. It wasn't... hard to, and he was off-duty, and she was the queen-to-be of the planet, he could think of probably a few more reasons but those held the most weight, internally. He wipes his face again, floating at about hip-height and glancing away to return to thinking about the anniversary. He wanted to make an offering, but there was nowhere to do that. Even if Auriana or Talia had brought an altar with them, he definitely wasn't going to get to use it. Praxina and him didn't have the luxury of items like that, anyway, so it wasn't like they could use or make one on their own anyway. But he wanted one. Did humans have somewhere for them to do that sort of thing?

Iris set out the blanket, a bit amused that he'd just floated but not saying anything until the task was completed. Then she nodded once. "Okay, down." She moved forward as well, sitting on the end of the blanket closer to her, moving the picnic basket too.

He settled back down on the blanket she'd laid out, glancing back at her again.

"...What are you doing?"

"Well, I was coming to have a picnic. I'm not going to leave until I have it, so..." Iris offered a smile. "Are you okay? Do you mind? We don't have to tell Praxina about this. I won't try to pick a fight if you won't."

"...We're off this week. I'm not going to attack you." He sighs, and glances away again. 

"I'm fine, just thinking. You can have your... pick-knick? Whatever that is."

"Picnic. One word." She held up a finger. "It's like... eating outside, mostly finger foods. Do they have that on Ephedia?"

"Picnic." Mephisto wrinkled his nose a little.

"Sounds like something they'd do in Xeris. Eating outside is pretty normal but I don't remember there being a word for doing it back home."

Iris nodded. "It's normal here too, we just like to have a word for it. Well, there's more than one." She admitted. "Barbeques too. But that's something specific, and I guess picnics are kind of specific too."

"Mmhmm." He hummed, and glanced away again.

"Back home we have Cadix, but that can happen anywhere so long as it's not dinner."

"What's that?" She asks. "It sounds kind of familiar."

"It's slang for cenberries and honey. I don't think you'd have heard of it, most countries don't eat honey."

"What do you mean, honey is so good." Iris rolled her eyes. "Honey on biscuits with butter... now that's a treat."

"...honey might not be the same thing, on Ephedia, that it is here." Mephisto smirked a little.

"Have you tried offering it to Talia or Auriana?"

"What? Oh, no, it never occurred to me." Iris frowned. "Now I feel like a bad host, Talia could have been drinking it in her tea for ages. I'll try offering it to her next time!"

Mephisto snorted.

"Yeah, you do that. Maybe have a shield spell ready, though."

She looked at him oddly. "Why? Who doesn't like honey?"

"...On Ephedia, honey is the name of a type of lubricant secreted by certain fruits. People in my home country and Calix figured it isn't a bad thing to eat, but most of the rest of the world only uses it was lube for... fornification."

Iris blushed. "What? And you were going to... I can't offer that to them!!"

"Hey, it's something that tastes good. It actually tastes really good on Navera or Cenberries, okay?"

"That's still super awkward! I mean, honey here is nothing like that, bugs make it and it's really sweet but..." She covered her face with her hands.

"Hey, at least I didn't actually let you make that mistake, right?"

"You were going to!" She shook her head, looking at him. "But... thank you for not."

"It would've been too mean." He glanced away, propping his chin on his knee again.

"So you're welcome, I guess."

Iris nodded. "Thank you... I think. I still can't believe it's so different..." She swallowed, fighting the blush. "Anyways... do you want to eat something? I overpacked."

"What kind of food is on this planet? Prax and I have been eating what we had saved."

"Well, I mostly brought finger food." Iris reached into the picnic basket, pulling out the plastic baggies of sandwiches- she'd made a couple, planning to be out for the whole afternoon- and the full container of strawberries, the packet of m&ms and the bag of chips and the soda cans. She set them all out between them, eyes flickering between the array and him. "It's nothing fancy, but it's pretty good."

Mephisto looked over the food, not recognizing any of it really. The fruits looked edible, at least, but he didn't know what else could he eat. 

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sandwiches, strawberries, chips and chocolate and drinks." She pointed vaguely at each of them before shrugging. She picked up a soda can and popped the tab, offering it to him. "Try it."

He flinched at the pop, but took the can and sniffed it experimentally.

"What drink is this?"

"Soda. It's bubbly and that one is cherry flavored. Uh, fruit. A fruit."

He takes a sip, and blinks a little at it. He takes another sip, swishing it around his mouth experimentally. 

"This tastes like cenberries?"

"You mentioned those, but I'm not sure what they are." Iris admitted.

"They're little red fruits that grow in trees, they can be sweet or tart, and tend to be very juicy, even given their size." He takes another sip, smiling a little.

"I kinda want to own an orchard of them, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon."

"That sounds a lot like cherries! Do they have big seeds in the middle?"

"Yes, actually. How weird. I didn't think an alien plant could be so similar to one I know."

"On Earth we call the seeds pits." Iris nodded. "That's cool though, I... maybe Ephedia won't be so alien after all."

"Earth is different, but it's not too terribly so. Mostly." Mephisto shrugged. 

"I'd wish you luck, but that seems counter-intuitive."

She offers a smile. "I guess. You could always do it and pretend you didn't."

"Sitting here with you and doing nothing to hurt you is a big enough risk as it is. And do you even need extra luck? Prax and I haven't beaten you in months." He glances away again, sighing to himself and pushing the bubbly feeling he got at talking to her down. This wasn't the time, and those feelings were dumb.

"Fair, but you're still pretty good at this. You keep almost winning, we just manage to pull hat tricks or whatever out of nowhere."

"Mm." Her pointing out that their failures were always after getting inches away from winning didn't really help, either. This wasn't how he'd wanted to spend the anniversary of his father's death. But it was what he had to work with, so... no use quibbling over details.

Iris winced. "Sorry, that's... probably not helpful, right."

"It's alright, it's not like I didn't know."

"I know, but sometimes it doesn't help to hear it. Are you okay?"

"Told you already, Princess, I'm fine. Today's just... a day." He curled in on himself a little. 

"A day I don't really like remembering."

"Did something happen today? Or, a long time ago, or something?" She frowned, not wanting to see him more upset.

"...do you know how Talia and Auriana joined the resistance?"

"I don't. They don't talk much, you know?" She paused. "Well, Talia mentioned what happened to Xeris, but I always assumed that there was something else too? Maybe. I don't know, you know? I was always scared to ask."

"Mm." He nodded a little, and shrugged.

"What happened to Xeris happened to a lot of different countries, including Volta. And my and my sister's home country, Runic. We didn't always work for Gramorr, didn't even join him until we were twelve." He admitted.

"The entire country was burned down and destroyed, and the princess that tried to save us died in the attempt."

She covered her mouth to hide her horror. "It... it did? Was that your princess?"

"What? No, Praxina and I were the heirs of Runic. That was the crown princess of Calix."

"Calix... you mean one of Carissa's sisters, then?" She guessed. "And you and Praxina are prince and princess, too?"

"Yes." He frowns a little.

"I think her other sister is still missing, too."

Iris couldn't help but feel her heart fall, though there was one thing she found... funny, almost. "How many royals are on earth, then?" She asked. "Like, seven atleast? That's... a lot."

"Almost the entire Voltan royal family is in the dungeons under the capitol, and half the Xerin royal family was killed 40 years ago. Calix's royals are missing and offworld, and I know she's not in Gramorr's dungeons, since I was in charge of them before. So. She's probably a prisoner of war in Borealis."

Iris winced. "That... that sounds terrible. I knew that the war had been going on for a long time, but I didn't know the extent."

"Since a little before you were born, duh." He rolled his eyes.

"It's been a while, yeah, but still. That's not that long."

"What? You just said it'd taken 40 years." She blinked. "Unless they died before the war?"

"...that's Ephedian years. I don't know how long Earth years are."

"How long is an ephedian year?"

"3 months."

"Are the months the same?"

"As far as I can tell, yes."

She nods. "Alright... then an earth year is twelve months."

"...huh."

"I'm seventeen, for reference."

"I'm... nineteen, then?"

"Yeah." She nods, internally filing that information away. Not that she should, really, but it was always important to know how old boys were. Not that he was a boy, and not that he was a boy in the way that information usually mattered... She blushed a bit as her thoughts run wild. "Yeah. Do you want to, um?" She points at a sandwich, raising her eyebrows.

He tilts his head, eyebrow quirking up.

"What's... that?"

"A sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly," She flashed a smile. "It's sweet."

He took the offered food, and sniffed it. He wrinkled his nose.

"It smells salty."

"It's salty and sweet! That's peanut butter."

He frowned at her, before taking a bite. And then squinted as he chewed, confused by the flavors.

"Weird."

"Do you like it?"

"...mm. I don't know. Maybe?"

She nodded. "It's not everybody's thing, but it was simple and Auriana ate all of the cheese I liked."

"Hm." He put the sandwich down, and wipes his hand off on his left greave. 

"I've never had anything like that back home. But maybe Xeris or Borealis do."

She nodded. "Maybe they do, maybe it's unique. Not everything has to have a version on Ephedia."

"True. But it kinda tastes like something they'd make. Xeris makes sweet foods and Borealis makes salty ones."

She hummed. "Makes you wonder what a Borealin and a Xerin would make together, right?"

"That." He pointed at the sandwich. 

"There's no doubt in my mind."

She giggled. It felt good to laugh with him, even if usually it was her laughing at him or the other way around. Somehow it felt better like this.

He smiled, heart swelling at the feeling of making her laugh. It felt good.

Iris picked up the bag of chips. "But yeah, you're... what were we talking about before, again?" Somehow the pause, getting off track, had practically wiped her brain clean. Not exactly, but she couldn't remember. "My memory's terrible, sorry."

Mephisto blinked, and then grimaced.

"Sorry." That was his fault, it had been his spell. Had the princesses never gotten it off of her?

"Why are you apologizing? It's my own fault." She tucked her hair behind her ear, shrugging.

"No, your memory. That's due to one of my spells."

"What spell?" Iris blinked, confused.

"...don't you remember the time Praxina and I tricked you into joining us for a day?"

"Joining you for a day?" Iris' eyebrows furrowed. "Maybe? Not well though."

"Do you remember the hedgehog? Little ball of love?"

"Hedgehog?" She thought for a moment. "I... oh, it was small. Right. I might."

Mephisto frowned, and uncurled a little.

"When you looked into its eyes, you forgot everything."

"Everything? That sounds like a lot."

"Yeah. It was my fault, so I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it too much, I'm sure you couldn't..." She lost the word, shrugging. "You know. Fix it?"

Mephisto frowned, and then held up his hand, concentrating past the buzzing in his head to try and see if he could lift the spell. 

It hurt like hell, and took more out of him than he'd bargained, but he managed to lift it. He pressed his face back into his knees to get through the way his head was screaming from how much that hurt, though.

Iris lifted her hand to her forehead slowly, touching her temple. "Wh..." she whispered, the memories racing through her mind. There were so many that it was like an overwhelming flood, and she couldn't help but feel like she needed to take a nap. "I... are..." She glanced at him. "Are you okay?"

He flinched, her voice grating against his ears now that his head was screaming. 

"...no." He was careful to keep his voice quiet, trying to keep from hurting further. It... hurt anyway.

"What's wrong?" Iris moved closer, concerned. Had she done something? She'd surely have remembered if she had...

"...it's hard to cast spells, especially complicated ones."

"It's that complicated?" She frowned. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really." He breathed out slowly, and rubbed his temple gently as he sat up a little.

Iris glanced at the food, but none of it would help him. She moved it to the side and got closer. "You're sure? No spells or anything from me would be able to help?"

"Not that I know of." He sighed. 

"You want to know why, don't you?"

"There's a reason?" She probably should have guessed that... "Sure, what is it?"

"Do you remember the archer?" He rubbed his face, bracing himself for her answer.

"The archer?" She thought for a moment. "Oh! Pumpkin." Iris blushed slightly. "Sorry, I just... memorable moment." She didn't mention that she'd doodled pumpkins in her notebook for a month after that. "Yeah, I remember."

"Do you remember how hard it was to cast spells when affected by it?"

"It was... yeah, it was impossible. I couldn't think, all I kept seeing was his face. Brad, I think?" She blinked, then looked at him. "But what does that have to do with any... oh. Wait, seriously? After all this time?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Praxina and I don't have a way to break the spell. If I wait a bit the headache will go away."

"Don't have a way to..." Iris thought for a moment, then blinked. "Wait, I have an idea, if you're willing. Talia and Auriana figured out how to break the spell."

Mephisto blinked, and stared at her.

"They did? What would that be?"

"I can't say it? It's awkward. But do you trust me?"

"...I probably shouldn't. But..." He glanced to the side, again letting his silence speak the last half of his sentence.

"But you're going to?" She guessed, moving closer still. Maybe it wouldn't work, maybe it would. She hoped it would."

He nods, slightly, watching her warily.

Iris cupped his cheek, leaning forward. It'd been a while since she initiated something like this, since highschool atleast. Sure she'd only graduated a few months ago, last year maybe, but it felt like forever. A lifetime had passed, she wasn't the same person anymore. She leans forward, a bit wary and unsure but more focused on seeing how he responded.

He froze, and waited for what she was going to do. Was she... she couldn't be...

She presses her lips to his gently, one of her eyes open so she could see if the spell broke or not. His lips were surprisingly soft and definitely surprised, not moving against hers, and she pulled back pretty quickly with quickly heating up cheeks.

His eyes flashed red, and then the spell broke. And suddenly... the buzzing, bubbling feelings for Iris shattered. He pressed a hand to his temple, eyebrows knitting together. 

"What..." everything was fuzzy.

"Did it work?" She asked, even if she'd seen the flash she still wasn't sure. Iris realizes then that he might attack her now, for kissing him or for breaking the spell or being there or something, but it's a risk she's willing to take.

Mephisto glanced at her, face heating up at how close she was.  
"Uh, er, yes, um. Why?"

"Old human remedy?" She guesses, offering a smile.

"Uh." He pressed a hand to his face, and glanced away again. Why... why, even without the spell, did he like her?

Iris sat back on her heels, still close but not unbearably so. "I guess humans are still good for something, right?" She suggested.

"...You're not a human, though."

"Well no, but they raised me. I'm more human than I am Ephedian, you know? You're not where you were born, you're where you were raised."

"I... guess." He shrugged a little.

"That's going to make becoming queen difficult, isn't it?"

"Maybe it will. But if I have you next to me it'd be easy." The words fall from her tongue without thinking, and she realizes that he might have just said that because of the spell... no time to take it back now. Iris swallowed.

He frowned.

"There's no way my sister would let me do that."

"Don't you ever do anything just for you?" Iris looked over to pick up a strawberry to offer to him, the soda she'd opened for him long forgotten.

"Even if I... did, that in particular is not something I could just do, especially considering... everything. Gramorr and Praxina and the war and... everything. Would anyone ever believe that I switched sides? And I couldn't, without Praxina, she's. I can't just do that."

Iris nodded. "I know that, but the future's not 20/20 until you look back at it." She wasn't sure if Ephedia had the same eye grading scale, but she offers a smile and shakes the strawberry gently. "Come on, try it. It's my favorite."

He glanced down, and took it after a second. 

"I don't get that reference." But he took the fruit, sniffing it curiously.

"20/20 is a reference to eyes. It means that you can see perfectly. So you can't see the future perfectly until you look back... you never know what's going to happen." Iris wiped her hand on her skirt, watching him. "It's a strawberry."

He took a bite, chewing it slowly. He didn't know what to expect, but... he couldn't help the smile, it was good! He'd never had anything like it, but he took another bite, humming a little.

Iris smiled as he began humming. "Thoughts?"

He finished it after a few seconds, and then winced a little at how fast he'd eaten it. 

"It's good, I, um. I really liked it?"

"That's good!" Iris clapped gently, reaching over to take the plastic box of them. "Want more? Usually I eat them all myself but... it's better you eat them than Auriana." She giggled.

"I've never had a fruit like it before." He took one, smiling a little. 

"I've always been better than Auriana."

"Don't tell her I agree?" Iris winced, unable to keep the smile off her face.

He preened a little. 

"I never promised to keep this meeting between us, did I?"

Iris fake gasped. "No!"

He laughed, and took another strawberry. 

"But if I told, you'd blab to Praxina, wouldn't you?"

"About?" She let an eyebrow rise, setting the box between them.

"This? Me... actually thinking about leaving her? Kissing... kissing you?"

"And why would I talk? Maybe I want to keep it a secret... I'm not usually one to kiss and tell." She winks at him. Was this mean? He'd just gotten out of a love spell that made him obsessed with her... but she liked teasing him gently.

"To get back at me? Why... why wouldn't you tell?" He was confused.

"How would that be getting back at you? If Praxina was mad at me then you'd never let me do it again." Maybe it was the mood under the tree, but she was feeling bold.

His face burned, and he sputtered a little. 

"Why would I l-let you do it again, anyway?"

Iris reached forward to pluck the strawberry from his fingers, biting it carefully. "I don't know, that's for you to decide."

He glanced away, blushing wildly.

"Mmmm."

She licked her lip where a trickle of juice had escaped, then takes another bite of it. "Mm?"

He glanced at her and quickly looked away. 

"Mmmm"

Iris couldn't help but giggle. Was it weird to think that villains were adorable?

Mephisto tugged his cape's collar up to hide his face. Why was she cute? And hot? Why did he still like her?

Iris reached over to grab the bag of chips again, crossing her legs. She was still much closer to him than when she'd started, but somehow it felt right. "You good there?"

"Mm." He whined a little more, glancing at her again.

Iris waved gently, unable to hide her smile. Yeah, if she'd been unsure before... her heart was beating a bit faster for the boy across from her. And it was interesting to see him in such a different way from how he usually was, too.

"Why?" He sniffed, and peaked out of his cape again. 

"Why... do you..." he couldn't finish.

"Why do I what?" She waved her hand again, prompting him to continue.

"Want... to kiss me again? Or work with me? I've been fighting you for nearly four years now. I've even. Won, once."

Iris thought for a moment on how to answer it best, humming herself. "Well, I've gotten to know you and your sister pretty well... but I also don't know you at all. And you make me want to. But more than that, my symbol is the heart, right? So I know matters of the heart better than anyone. And they don't always make sense. Sometimes they're crazy, and sometimes they lead you in directions you didn't expect, and sometimes they lead you to a willow tree with a picnic basket and a feeling that something good is about to happen."

"You know more about us now than anyone else alive, I'm pretty sure." Mephisto pointed out, glancing away. 

"I... don't know if I want you to know more."

"Then only tell me when you want to." Iris pulled out a chip and popped it into her mouth. "I don't need to know everything. But if you want, I could always make it less terrible- for every story you tell, I could share one too."

"...maybe. I... guess that wouldn't be terrible." He shrugs a little.

Iris nodded. "If nothing else, I know a lot of embarrassing stories about myself so... if you get down, I can make you smile again."

"That wouldn't hurt, I guess. I mean, I don't really understand why you care, considering we're not going to be on the same side any time soon. There's almost no way we could defect, even with our failures."

"Can't I keep this moment with you just a bit longer? It's not like either of us will attack here, right? There's something about this tree... it's a safe place." She reached over to press her hand to a root through the blanket. "Besides, this is honestly more fun than I've had in a while. I... I needed to get away from Talia and Auriana. They..." She thought for a moment, about them and about Mephisto and about everything. "Wait. You've been under the love spell since... and you just... you managed to steal an oracle gem while you were under a spell that impeded your magic?"

Mephisto blinked.

"I mean... yes? Only one. And I only had to have the idea for the monsters. Percy was easy to make, considering."

"That's still amazing. And really impressive... now I'm almost scared to see what else you do." She admitted.

"Not much. My magic isn't impressive; that's Praxina's... thing. I just know things, I can't always do anything with that knowledge. Princesses have magical potential. Princes don't get very far."

"You got farther than Praxina did." Iris pointed out. "You got an oracle gem and you were able to do way more than I was while under a spell, and more than that you were under the spell for, what, a year?" She offered him a hand for a high five. "Trust me. That's impressive."

He eyed her hand, eyebrows knitting together. 

"You've got what, four year's worth of training? I've been training for all of my life. It's different, isn't it? One more thing to work through isn't going to change much."

Her shoulders slumped a bit. "I know I'm new to this and I know I'm not good at it. That doesn't mean that you can't be proud of yourself and what you manage to do, Mephisto."

"But there's nothing to be proud _of_. I barely managed that plan, I... I didn't even know if Percival would have gotten the gem."

"But he did and you managed to." Iris sighed, leaning back and bracing herself with her palms. "It's like you don't want to be proud of the evil stuff you do. You might not have chosen to be with Gramorr, but don't you still like what you have now? With Praxina? Or are you unhappy?"

"Who would want to be proud of failing every other week for four years? Even when we won we immediately lost the oracle gem when Gramorr returned it to us. Getting yelled at and threatened daily isn't fun." He glanced away.

"And who would like being stuck on some stupid alien planet for who knows how long, and even when you do get to go home you're still not going to get to _really_ be going home, because you don't **have** a home anymore??"

That was a lot, but Iris understood. Well, maybe not really, but she understood why he wasn't proud. She bit her lip. "I wish there was something I could do..."

He sniffed, and wiped his face.

"I appreciate that, really-"

Praxina cut him off, a crystal appearing between the two. "Mephisto! Where are you? You've been gone for hours."

"-Prrraxina! Ah, uh. Just the park, I'll return to the cave in a second, okay? Did, did something happen?" He couldn't look at Iris without alerting Praxina to her presence. This was... awful.

Iris' eyes widened and she lifted a hand to cover her mouth, hiding as best as she could.  
Praxina, meanwhile, groaned. "No! I just... I need you, okay? Hurry up."

"I'll be right there, okay? I promise. I love you." He broke the connection before she could answer, not wanting to be ridiculed for saying it or anything else that could have happened.

Iris swallowed as the crystal disappeared. "I... are you taking the strawberries with you?" She asked weakly, heart hammering in her chest.

"Praxina would have questions. So... no. You'll just have to keep them to yourself." He hands them back, smiling slightly, and then teleports to the cave.

Praxina didn't know why her brother had disappeared. She'd been mentally preparing to talk about feelings and try to remember their father, what looked like and how he smelled and how his hugs felt. Instead... he'd completely disappeared. She tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to show up.

He showed up, fixing how his clothing sat and wiping his face to get rid of the juices there. Those would be incriminating.

Praxina turned, frowning at her brother. "What's got you looking so... like that?" She asked, waving a hand at his general appearance.

"Today." He sniffed a little, and adjusted his cap so it fell more open around his face again. 

"You know how it is."

She sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. "I... I do. Why did you have to go? I hate talking about feelings but... I can't stand being here alone." It was hard enough to just get that out, her cheeks heating up at the emotional display. Not even very emotional, but she couldn't stop thinking and that was a dangerous thing.

"I needed some alone time." He glanced away, tugging the cape back up again a little as he spoke.

"I don't want to have to cry in front of you ever year, okay?"

That was... fair. She'd admit that. Praxina sighed, rubbing her temples. "I know, I know. I just... I don't want to be alone."

"I... I know. I was gonna come back sooner but I didn't want it to be obvious I'd been crying." He hadn't actually gotten to the crying part, today, but it was a good enough excuse. And he had been red in the face when she'd called.

"Can we just not pretend that we're okay for one day? We're always pretending, always faking, and it's exhausting." She stepped closer to him, digging her nails into her arms. "Do we get to talk about it? Do we get to think about it?"

"If you.... promise not to lord it over me later, we can talk. I've been thinking about it and... stuff all day."

Praxina nodded. "Fine. But first?" She glanced him over, scanning for obvious injuries, then stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

Mephisto blinked down at her, before immediately curling into the hug and pressing as close as he could.

Praxina buried her face in his chest, holding her little brother. If she let herself think, if she let herself go, she'd start shaking... but was that such a bad thing? "You're not going to run off, right?" She whispers."

"Of course not. I promise, I won't leave you until we're back on duty."

She nodded, fingers starting to wobble. "Atleast he doesn't make us attack the princesses on... this day."

"Yeah." He kissed the top of her hair, sighing. 

"I don't know if I could handle trying to do anything today."

Praxina laughed once, then picked her feet up, floating in place. "You were really off crying alone, brother?"

"What else would I have been doing?"

"I don't know, I just... it's sad. You thought you couldn't do it in front of me? It's not like I can blame you for it." Praxina pressed her face into his chest further. Talking about feelings was so embarrassing.

"Sometimes it feels like you'll make fun of me for every little thing I do wrong." He propped his chin on top of her head, squeezing her close.

"I know, logically, that you probably won't, but it feels like it."

"I mean, sure I tease you, but you don't actually take it seriously, right?" Praxina frowned.

"...not usually." Just because he knew she wasn't always serious didn't mean that it never got to him, or that some of it wasn't true.

"Good. Unless you're embellishing, or lying through omission." Praxina pulled back a bit, staring at him. "What is it?"

He grimaced, and looked away.

"It's nothing, Prax."

"Talk to me. We're twins, Mephisto. We should be able to talk!"

"...I don't know what you want to hear." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, before looking away again.

"When have we ever been any good at talking? To anybody, but especially each other?"

She winced. "Okay, point there. I just... Here we don't exactly have anyone. On ephedia we could pretend, but here's it's just us and those princesses. I thought we might be able to just magically work through it, I don't know."

"I know. And that's... that's why sometimes we need alone time. Because we're almost always breathing down each other's necks and I've heard how annoying that gets." Praxina had complained about the lack of personal space between them maybe a week ago, it'd stung then and it still hurt now. They didn't exactly have a choice, what was the point of harping on it?

Praxina sighed. "I know, I know. It just doesn't feel like we're in sync anymore. I needed someone today, and you needed... well, no one."

"I'm usually pretty good at figuring out what you need, but... sometimes I need a me-day. Is that so terrible?" To be honest, he felt a little bad for abandoning Praxina, but if he hadn't... he wouldn't be free of the spell. He wouldn't have talked to Iris or tried those foods or... realized she wasn't the boring, goody-goody princess he'd thought she was. So... he couldn't say he regretted it, or regretted lying about what he'd been doing. Though he'll need to figure something out on how to explain the spell being broken. If Praxina even remembers the spell.

"It isn't terrible, I just miss when we were in sync. When it was us against the world." She shrugged, not sure if she were currently able to truly find the words to express herself.

"We weren't 'us against the world' until we were twelve. And we haven't stopped being 'us'. I've been trying to keep up with you and everything. Maybe I could if you'd calm down for once."

Praxina frowned at him, crossing her arms. "Well maybe I could calm down if we'd actually win sometime. Maybe I could calm down if we could just figure out how to beat the princesses for good."

"I have ideas about that. We could do what we did with Percival, the one time. Create a problem and then wait for the princesses to solve it and a get a gem for it, then have Percy swoop in and steal it at the last second. It should work at least a couple of times before they figure out how to beat us or destroy Percy, right?"

Praxina nodded. "As long as you don't run off again..."

"I already promised I wouldn't leave again today. What more do you want, Prax?"

"Proof?" She guessed, shrugging.

"What kind if proof do you want, exactly? Praxina, what can I do to make you trust me?"

"U-uh, w-when we get back to ephedia... take care of the caddas for a year." She nodded. They didn't even keep caddas, but it felt correct. "Yes. That'll do."

"Wh- where am I going to find caddas? Do they sell them anywhere outside of Runic?" Mephisto pouted. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"I heard there were a bunch in Volta..." She shrugged, looking away. "How about that?"

"Fine. If it'll make you happy, I'll buy you caddas and take care of them."

"Good. One has to be named after me, too. Got it?"

"Fiiiiine. Are you going to pick it or will I get to?"

"You get to."

"Good. That's good. You can name one after me." He grinned, and bopped her noise.

Praxina cackled, shoulders shaking happily. "Sounds like a plan."


	2. Chapter 2

Mephisto had been following Iris and the other princesses when they left the barrier. Today, Iris was leaving the place for a... walk? What was she doing?

Iris couldn't resist the urge. She had a practice coming up, but here she was, her picnic basket in one hand... Ever since she and Mephisto had that talk in the park she couldn't get it out of her head. It was a bit chilly out, the pale pink t shirt hanging off her shoulder not doing much to protect her, but it was alright. She'd deal. She sighs and stretches as she walks down the sidewalk, passing the shops and ignoring them.

Was she... just walking? What was she doing? Didn't she have practice in two hours? Mephisto bit his lip and followed her a little more closely.

Iris started humming as she walked, 'Higher' getting stuck in her head the more she thought about the band. When she got back from the park they'd asked her how her day went, and she'd simply shrugged them off, lips stained red from the strawberries and cheeks still feeling the phantom heat from her blushing. She fixes her grip on the picnic basket in her hand, turning towards the park. There was no guarantee he'd be there, but she wanted to atleast try.

Mephisto hovered above where the princess stood, waiting for her to move. Was she going to the park? What was she planning?

She took a deep breath before nodding once and heading forward. No turning back now, right?

Mephisto was ungodly curious. What was she doing? Was she planning another picnic? Maybe he should leave her be? Oh, but Praxina wouldn't like that. Hmm.

It didn't take long to get to her willow tree, and luckily she'd remembered the blanket. She sighed to herself as she stepped between the leaves, eyes flickering around to see Mephisto but... sadly the boy wasn't there.

He tilted his head. Was she... waiting for him? After a few seconds he poked his head into the leaves, curious. 

"Are you waiting for something?"

Iris had already gotten the blanket laid out, and she jumps when she hears his voice. "Warn a girl first!" She chastised, half turning towards him.

Mephisto raised an eyebrow, floating in a lying position half inside the tree's canopy and half out, smiling a little at her reaction. 

"Do I really have to? What are you doing?"

"Actually," She flashed a smile in his direction and sat down, glad she was wearing leggings today. "Hoping you'd drop by."

Mephisto blinked. 

"Are you... sure? Just because you helped me on my off day doesn't mean we're friends, Princess. I'm on duty today, you know." He slips into the canopy anyway, making to sit down on the blanket opposite her.

"Well, are you going to try to fight me?" Her eyebrow arched up. "While I'm in good faith that I could kick your butt, I think you're going to want what I have."

"What you have?" He glanced her over, not noticing anything out of the ordinary on her. 

"I don't get it."

Iris gestured to the picnic basket. "Can you smell it?"

Mephisto sniffed the air, trying to parse the sort-of-familiar scents out from the begrudgingly-familiar-earthy-smells around them. It... wasn't going too well. Everything smelled like the planet and its appliances, he couldn't really parse much else beyond Iris's own personal smell.

"Not... really. I don't know what you're trying to get me to smell here."

Iris sighed. "Fine, fine. I did what I could, not really knowing what sort of ingredients they have on ephedia but... I asked Carissa to help me." She pulled out the tupperware, cracking the lid and handing it to him. "It should still be warm."

Mephisto blinked down at the liquid in front of him, smile cracking across his face at the sight of the familiar dish.

"Is this Choncrom?" He presses the bowl to his lip and takes a sip, humming at the taste. He hadn't gotten to have stew in forever.

Iris smiled, then giggled when he sipped it. "Wait, wait, I have spoons. And it's not the same type because we don't have any on earth, but it's as close as we could get it."

Mephisto nodded a little, licking his lip and humming a little.

"Yeah, it's not quite the same. But it's much better than none, thank you so much." He couldn't help but smile at her, heart thumping a little in his chest. Iris had mad him a dish from home, probably just because she wanted to.

"And-" She reached into the basket to pull out the plastic bag of navera, the bag of cherries, the plastic water bottles of Carissa-approved wine, "Here. A taste of home, or as close as you can get here."

Mephisto put the bowl down to cover his mouth, hiding his smile and trying to muffle the sounds that were trying to claw their way out of his throat. 

"You... why would you go to all this trouble?" Even if it all tasted terrible- and it'd been made by Iris and a Calixian, so there was no way it was going to- he'd have been touched beyond words. This was a lot, and they weren't even friends! They were enemies. It was his job to capture her and bring her before Gramorr. This... this was completely out of his comfort zone.

"I wanted to cheer you up." She shrugged. "And I guess... part of me wanted to know more about ephedia. Hardly anyone ever talks about it, so getting a chance to cook food from there- or as close as we could get it- is special. I... when I get there I'm going to be so lost, I don't know anything."

"You have a library, shouldn't that help you some?" Mephisto cocked his head. He knew books weren't the same as first-hand experience, but they were better than nothing.

"I don't exactly have time to sit around and read all day, Talia runs a tight ship." Iris sighs.

"Well, there's a spell I know to let you read a book in a manner of seconds. I could teach it to you." Why was he offering? This wasn't exactly going to do anything but make it easier for her to learn magic that could hurt them in the long run. But... he'd offered. No going back now.

Iris blinked. "I... I have a book, if you want to..." She reached into the picnic basket, grabbing the book that she'd grabbed on a whim

Mephisto took the book, holding one hand over it and taking a moment to prepare the spell mentally. 

"Crystal Lectio." The spell made his eyes glow white, the book floating between his hands for a few seconds before the spell ended and he sat back a little, blinking.

Iris shuddered, holding up a hand in front of herself. His eyes went white and he'd stared straight ahead, but then it was over just as soon as it'd started. "What's the main character's name?"

"Wendy... Darling?" He wrinkled his nose.

"What kind of family name is Darling?"

Her eyes widened. "And the villain?"

"Captain Hook." He thought for a moment.

"Or the... crocodile? What's a crocodile?"

"And what about the- um- cellphone in the crocodile?"

"It was a clock." He pauses.

"What's a clock? I know it's not a cellphone because we stole one of those once."

"Holy shit-" Iris took the book. "Remind me of the spell?"

"Crystal Lectio," He recites, tilting his head again.

"Why did you have that book?"

"I... it was still in there from the other day." Iris shrugged.

"Ah." Mephisto nodded a little, and picked up the soup again. 

"Can I have a spoon?"

Iris handed it to him. "So it's good?" She asked, breaking off a piece of navera.

"Yes." He takes a bit of navera himself, dipping it in the stew and tasting it to check the flavor. 

"These are good too!" He didn't mean to sound surprised, but... they tasted very close to what he'd grown up with, it was a bit of a surprise to finally taste something like it again.

"So I managed to do it?" She watched closely- a bit creepy, but she wanted to know that he liked it.

"Yes!" He grinned, and ate the rest of it without the stew; he wanted to taste the flaky thing on its own. 

"You did really well."

The praise felt... surprisingly good. Especially coming from him, where he usually had rude things to say. "Thanks."

He scooped the soup onto the spoon, deciding to finish that before it got too cold.

"You're welcome."

She leaned back, picking up another piece of navera. She'd intended on sharing the soup, but it was alright. She had more food at home.

He took another piece of navera, dipping it into the soup again and offering the bowl for her to try. There was a bit left on the bottom, and the navera tasted very good dipped in it.

Iris glanced in, using her piece to soak up some of the soup. She flashed a smile as she pulled it back, then took a bite. The soup wasn't like anything she'd ever had before, but she really enjoyed it. Imagining that there was a version on ephedia, that might even be better... "Wow."

"This is really impressive, Iris. Thank you." He sat the bowl down, in case she wanted to dip the navera into the remaining soup.

"Is that wine?"

Iris held her mouth, nodding. "And cherries!"

"Cherries? Those are the things that taste like cenberries, right?" He points, eyes lighting up a little.

"I wouldn't mind growing an orchard once the war is over, and the caddas Praxina wanted are fully grown." He paused.

"Forget that last part."

Iris blinked at him. "The... whats?"

"...Caddas. They're lizards that I knew were raised in Runic but are apparently flourishing in Volta as well, according to my sister. She wants me to buy and raise a few for her."

Iris smiled. "That's so cute." She reached forward to soak another piece of navera in the soup, glancing at him. "That sounds like it'll be really fun."

"I suppose. They're toothless fat lizards that are mildly toxic. I don't remember how, at the moment, but you can't eat them. They're mostly useless but are cute and easily kept as pets."

"I... can I have one? After you have them for a while and they have babies?" Was it normal to assume a future existed where she and the two villains hellbent on her destruction got to coexist on speaking terms?

Mephisto blinked.

"Uh. If... if we end up in a time where I'm raising Caddas and you're free, I'll give you your pick of their first litter."

Iris nodded, putting a hand over her heart. "If you ever want a cat, I can steal one of Doug's."

"Why would I want a cat? They're ugly and only get uglier when they get ginormous."

She snorted. "What? No, no. Earth cats. Small, smart, good kitties. Hold on, I can pull up a picture..." She pulled her phone out.

Mephisto blinked, and tilted his head.

"Wait. Earth has cats?"

"If you give me five minutes I can bring you a cat." She nodded, picking up the bottle of wine he hadn't touched.

"Okay..." He waited, reaching out for the cherries so he can try them. He's only had the drink version, maybe the real thing tastes different.

Iris pauses, hand on the empty picnic basket. "I can... always wait until some other time to show you a cat."

"You... can? How do you know we'll meet up again like this?"

Iris finally noticed his hand and moved to pass the cherries, then pausing and pulling them into her own lap to frown. "Are you saying that we're not going to?"

"We're enemies? There's almost no way this is going to keep happening. Praxina would definitely notice before the fifth time." He pointed out, pouting at her withholding the fruit.

Iris bit her lip. "Then can't you be sneakier about it? Or figure something out to tell her? Carissa's going to teach me a ton of recipes, and I really like the navera."

Mephisto pouted. 

"There aren't a lot of ways to spin this in a way that makes sense. Because it doesn't make sense. And it's not a good idea. And it's not like you have to share the food you make with me; I'm sure Carissa would rather be the one eating it." He glanced to the side.

"Why do you even want to keep meeting me?"

"I... I like talking to you I guess?" She shrugged, not wanting to admit the more selfish reason. "And if I wanted to share with Carissa then I would've."

"I don't... understand you." He bit his lip, and glanced at her again.

"Are you going to eat those? Because I don't think clutching them is a good idea." He points at the cherries in her lap, gnawing on his lip a little.

Iris looked down at her lap, then shook her head. "Oh, sorry, no, I'm actually full." She handed him the bag. "Here, sorry."

He took the bag, sighing a little.

"I'm... sorry. For upsetting you, I guess." He took one of the red fruits out, sniffing it experimentally.

"It's not your fault, it's fine." She flapped a hand. "Really."

"I upset you. I was only pointing out something that should be obvious, but... it upset you, and I'm sorry about it."

"And it's okay, I'll get over it. Besides, you liked the food and we're not fighting right now, so it's okay." She offered a smile. "It's okay."

He pouted, and shook his head.

"It isn't really okay, though. Just because we're not fighting now doesn't mean that we won't be soon. And even then, it's not... fair, to be stuck like this." He grimaced.

"Nevermind, I don't know where I ws going with that. It's still... not okay."

Iris sipped her wine, shrugging. "It is what it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> caddas are basically big fat lizards  
> cenberries r cherries  
> chonchrom are a type of deer on ephedia  
> they're dorks ok they're dorks


	3. Chapter 3

Iris sighed, turning her face to the sun as she walked. It was becoming routine at this point, getting out of the house and just wandering for a bit. No Talia, no Auriana, no problem.

Mephisto was getting antsy. His ability to cast spells had improved, but handling and especially attacking Iris was more than twice as hard as it used to be. He had feelings and they weren't part of the archer's spell. Could... could Iris have cast a different spell on him after breaking the archer's spell? He had to know.

As she walked past an alley, he hid in the shadows and called to her.

"Hey, psst!"

Iris froze at the whisper, suddenly feeling like she was in highschool again. Was this normal for tax paying adults to feel? She glanced around slowly.

He poked a hand out into the light, motioning her closer.

"Hey, Princess!"

Iris turned toward the alley, blinking at the glove. "What's up?"

"I have a question for you." Mephisto whispered, motioning again.

Iris' eyebrows rose, and she realized that this was exactly like highschool. She straightened her shirt, nodding slowly and stepping forward. "I don't have any cash but... what's the question?"

"Cash? What's cash?" Mephisto stepped into the light, head tilted in confusion.

Iris stared at him. "You are... not what I was expecting. Ignore that."

"I don't get you. But that wasn't my question." He frowned at her, crossing his arms.

"What's the question?" Iris propped a hand on her hip.

"What did you do to me?" He glanced away, grimacing a little. That sounded bad.

"What? Do to you?" Iris crossed her arms. "I didn't do anything."

"Then what's in your lipstick?" There had to be something, right? The feelings couldn't actually be...

"Honey and coconut oil?" Where was this going?

"You put what on your face??"

It took a second to hit her. "What? Oh god no! Honey on earth is a moisturizer, it's not..." her cheeks heated up. "That."

"...sure." That sounded fake. But it still wasn't something that could be a love spell. 

"Then what was in the cherries?" She'd eaten the stew and the navera, so it couldn't be either of them.

"Cherries? Uh... just the pits? And I washed them before I came, but that's normal. What are you talking about?" Iris stepped into the alley.

"What did you wash them with?"

"Water?"

"What?!"

"Yeah, du-" She suddenly remembered Carissa and when they'd cooked together. "Water is safe on earth, chill out. It's fine."

"...really? You're sure??" He grimaced. 

"So you didn't do anything at all?"

"No, not anything on purpose. Just... what I usually do. No magic." Iris frowned. "So what's wrong? Why do you think I up and did something?"

"...mm." He couldn't look at her, it was... it wasn't a good thing, that she hadn't. Because that meant these weren't a spell... unless...

"Are you sure you broke the spell?"

"Yes, definitely. I saw it break, I know what it looks like. Do you mean..." She furrowed her eyebrows and leaned against the wall.

"Mmm." He didn't want to say it. Saying it made it real. Plus... he didn't know how to say it.

"Do you mean what I think you mean?" Iris felt her cheeks heating up a bit.

"What do you think I mean?" He asked, biting his lip.

"That you still... feel the way you did before?"

He inclined his head a little, refusing to look at her. What was he supposed to do now? He'd been hoping it was a spell.

Iris blew out some air. "If it's not a spell then that means it's just you, right? Nothing else could be it. It was just us and nobody else would do that to you. And I didn't."

He grimaced a little more.

"Is that supposed to be comforting?"

"Maybe not, but atleast you know nobody is manipulating your feelings. If it's just you then you can figure out what you want to do, right?" Iris offered a smile. "So, what do you want to do?"

His grimace grew into a full-on sneer.

"I want to get rid of these feelings. They're doing nothing but making my job to hurt and/or capture you stupidly hard."

The smile fell from her face, and it suddenly became very hard to keep a positive look at all. "Yeah... that would do it." She sighed. "What, is there some spell to make you hate me again?"

"Well. I know they exist. But I don't know any, and there aren't any in the spellbook Prax and I have." He crossed his arms, hugging himself a little.

"Being spelled doesn't sit well, though, considering the possible consequences."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Iris nods. "So what do you want to do? Would learning more about me fix it? If you knew me better maybe you wouldn't..." She couldn't say the words 'like me so much'. It wasn't fair. She had to shove her own feelings down, though. She couldn't be selfish, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Getting to know you in the first place made me-" He couldn't finish. There was no way he could say it out loud, or it'd be true. He knew it was true, but if he didn't say it, then maybe he could pretend it wasn't actually happening.

Iris was better at filling in the gaps than people thought. Her cheeks reddened and she swallowed. "Then if that's the case, could you just cut this off, pretend it never happened? I was enjoying getting to spend time with you."

"Mm." He glanced at her finally, and bit his lip.

"I'm... sorry."

Maybe she was being too tense, too harsh. He didn't owe her anything, after all. They weren't even friends... just two star-crossed enemies. "It's fine."

"It clearly isn't." He pointed out, waving a hand to the side as if gesturing to his feelings.

"If I wasn't working for Gramorr, if you weren't the Wonder Princess, maybe this could work out. But that's not a line of thinking I can afford to entertain. I'm... going to go. Goodbye, Princess."

"Wait-" Iris reached out, her heart pausing for a moment. "Hold on, wait."

He paused, and glanced at her hand, eyebrow arching a little. 

"What is it?"

Iris swallowed. "I didn't mean to sound distant. I... if ignoring it is what you want to do, that's fine, but I know I can't. Why don't just... try it once? Get everything out, then hope we don't want more?" It was a terrible offer, had never worked in the past, but maybe she was selfish. Maybe she wanted more moments with him. Maybe she liked sharing her food under the willow tree, and maybe she wanted more.

Mephisto's breath caught in his throat, and he couldn't help but blush at the implication. This was... this was a lot. He couldn't- he couldn't go through with it, could he?

"I..." Could he..

"Can I think it over?"

"If you need to. Yes." She nodded slowly. "But can I ask one thing before you go?"

"...I suppose." He stepped a little closer, unsure what she wanted.

Iris stepped into his space and grabbed his cape, pulling him down towards her. This kiss that she stole had no noble intentions like the first, just a selfish fear that this would be the last stolen moment between them. She's gentle with her kiss, the press of their lips, but there's something desperate about it too. She's sure he'll see right through her.

Mephisto gasped, one hand automatically grabbing Iris's elbow to steady himself, eyes flying wide at the sudden kiss. 

Did this count as his first, or his second? The other was to break a spell, so did it count?

She didn't know if the gasp was a good thing or bad, but Iris shut her eyes tighter and turned her head slightly, their lips twisting gently, her left leg lifting slowly without her bidding to that romance-genre leg pop. Her cheeks reddened.

Mephisto found himself leaning into the kiss, eyes finally closing and other hand coming up to cup the back of hers and urge her closer. If he was going to do this... he was going to enjoy it.

Finally, a response. She was scared for a moment there that it was completely unwanted, that he'd be disgusted at her presumptuous theft. Instead he started to respond and she allowed her other hand to cup his hip, her tongue darting out to trace a line over his bottom lip.

He gasped again, at the tongue on his lip, and let his mouth open to give her access. He shouldn't let this go on much longer, but he didn't want to stop yet.

Iris knew that if she went further she wouldn't stop. So she pulled back, breathing a bit harder and blushing and looking up at him. "Thank you."

Mephisto knew his face was burning. He shook his head a little, waving a hand erratically as if trying to dismiss the idea.

"Don't mention it. Please." He teleported away, then, to watch her from the proper distance.

Iris rubbed her arms, leaning against the wall again. What luck did she have, he probably hated her now. Just as suddenly as he'd left, however, her phone begins to ring and she finds herself glad that he'd left when he had. "Hello? Auriana?"

"Iris! Practice is happening so you need to hurry back! And your breakfast is cold so don't bother with it, okay?? Hurry home!"

"What?" Iris' eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, sorry, I got... held up. There was an... accident! I got held up by an accident."

"Oh no! Are you hurt? Do we need to find you? What happened??"

"I'm not hurt, I'm not hurt." Iris assured her. "There was a proposal, it wasn't anything bad."

"A proposal?? What do you mean??? How can a proposal be an accident??"

"Uh..." Iris closed her eyes. "I can't hear you, I think we're breaking up. I'll get home soon!"

"Iris you're lying! But if you get home in the next ten minutes I won't tell Talia! Bye!"

Iris hung up on her, leaning her head against the wall for a moment. When had she gotten so terrible at lying? Had it secretly been always?

"A proposal, huh?" Mephisto asked, poking his head into the alley again from the mouth.

"Is that what you're calling it?"

Iris jumped, yelping. "What?"

"You're not going deaf, are you, princess?"

Iris shook her head. Could her cheeks get any redder? "I heard you just fine. I thought you left?"

"I still have to watch you, and that was something I needed to ask. But if you're not going to answer, I'll just go again-"

"Stop!" Iris was getting too used to having to keep him from running off. "It was a proposal. I mean, not like, to be married or anything drastic like that but... it was."

He stops, eyebrow quirking up again even as he smiled a little. 

"Really?" This isn't going to make his decision any easier- he's on the fence as it is- but it's useful information anyway.

"It's an offer and I'm... It's up to you." She nodded. "Okay?"

He nodded, bowed to her, and made to leave again. 

"Until next time, Princess."

"Wait- before you go, can I have... one more thing?" Would he let her get away with it again? Iris stepped forward.

He blinked down at her, stopping again. 

"What is it?"

Iris beckoned for him to come closer again, cheeks heating up again.

Mephisto stepped close, eyebrow coming up again. What did she want...?

When he was close enough she got onto her tip toes and stole another kiss, her hand moving to cup his cheek this time. She didn't drag this one out, just a short press of their lips together.

Mephisto froze, a squeak escaping him this time. As soon as he was released, he teleported away. He couldn't risk her doing that anymore.

As soon as she pulled back he was gone again, but the noise gave her reason to think he hadn't hated it. Was it cruel to keep stealing kisses? Surely he'd start to expect them sometime, right?

This was awful. His feelings were bubbly and excited and he couldn't afford this, why did she have to like him back? He didn't want to think about what if she hadn't, but... it wasn't actually helping the root of the problem to have her return his feelings. Even if it made him happy. This happiness can't last; they're enemies for the Melzors' sakes!

Iris smiled to herself and touched her lips, sighing as she finally moved to leave the alley and head home, hoping Auriana hadn't told Talia anything while she was away.

Mephisto watched her finally go, sighing a little himself. He's... not sure what he'll decide to do with her proposal, but... he knew they weren't going to get to talk like this much longer.

She headed home, thinking about his lips and thinking about what she'd tell Auriana to get out of this mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> water is poisonous and unsafe to drink on ephedia in the context of this fic
> 
> also, how are we liking their runins? any guesses on what iris assumed the person in the alley wanted?


End file.
